Warning PlayNC (CoV,CoH) Will Steal Your Money! ... are they that desperate?

mrverse · May 2007

So one day im talking too a buddy and she asks me if i still play cov, naturally i say hell no since even super mario has more variety/replay value then that sh!t but that day i sorta maybe a little missed my brute. So i check the website for new info on their usually over-rated "issues" ya know those "expansions" that introduce maybe 1 or 2 things that keep your interested untill you actually try them? Well anyway, so i see a banner saying something like "Try CoV/CoH FREE till Sunday!" and then i say "heh..why not?"..

So i sign in my account, check my Play NC account options and i see the Reactivate Button. I click it and it asks me for a credit card. Stupid me figuring this was just procedure incase i wanted too play after sunday when the promotion ends ya know? Since theyve done this before. So i enter it, hop in my old server.. and well ill sum it up...

1. Looked around (10mins)

2. Checked out new craft system (5mins)

3. Disappointed since you get too make "what!?" more enhancements yay!

4. Went afk and Watched tv (30mins)

5. Came back and saw a team invite and did a mission (15mins)

6. Quit the team since they were quiet and boring and went afk again (30mins)

7. Forgot i left the game on while watching X play, Quit and went back to watch tv

Now.. after my awsome gaming experience i decided "i dont think i can afford the extra $16 after sunday because this game is overwhelmingly crowded and thiers sooo many players and i just dont think i have the time for al this fun" so i canceled the account and left it at that.

You would think if you cancel your account before the promo ends you dont get charged right? I mean what the hell does "free play till sunday" mean if you have too pay for that free time right?

So next day i check my bank account and find a pending debit of $16... right away i say "oh f^ck no" and write support basically telling them i want my $16 back since i did not know i would be charged for my free trial. Ofcourse they respond with their "oh im sorry your card has already been charged and we cant give a refund once time is already added too your account because we just cant jesus doesnt allow it "

So this pisses me off even more and i tell them i dont even care about the account and im not going too play it after so just cancel my time and refund my money. Why should it matter if i played in the promo time slot?

2 days pass..

Another letter i wrote too them asking why wont they respond? If i had known i would be charged for a free trial i wouldnt have joined.

1 day passes..

They tell me, "The newsletter/e-mail and official website describing the promotional weekend event states that your game account was reactivated for you and all that was needed in order to begin/continue game play was to log into your game account" and basically saying their was "login activity so they cannot refund my cash" and ofcourse delightfully remind me i get too play for the rest of the month yay!!

Now isnt it odd that my account said "reactivate" if it was already activated?

Isnt it odd that the "login activity" was in the promotional time slot?

Isnt odd im getting denied a refund for playing in the free promo time?

Isnt odd i paid $16 too wander around in tights?

Looks like they laughed and said "quick umm umm make up a reason why we cant give this dude a refund seriously i need too feed my gerbal tonight!"

If thats not false advertisement then i dono what is because i never saw sh!t saying "yea just login your account is already activated".. i mean wouldnt they send a email for that?

Feels good to vent.. im takin this all the way to the bank and gettin it one way or the other.. a man can do alot with $16.. papa johns pizza!

-my last response i got from them-

Thank you for your response. Unfortunately, we will be unable to assist you further with a refund.

----------------------Note-----------------------------

Their was NO fine print saying your account was activated and all that was needed is too just login.

I did attempt too login the same day before i reactivated my account and guess what? didnt let me.

I assumed my account needed too be reactivated in order too start my trial.. i knew it was a risk, either that or i wasnt picked.. well even support said my account was picked but i still got charged..

I didnt get any email, all i saw was one of their banners

Yes i know its my fault and yea i played mmos that require you to reactivate your account and place your credit card INCASE you want too play when the trial expires.. for you d!pshits who think im saying its all their fault, im not, i know its my fault.. all i wanted was just a refund because i wasnt aware of their terms and didnt recieve any email whatsoever, sh!t happens life goes on "thank you come again"

Whats even funnier is im getting posts saying "didnt you read the email hahaha learn to read" but if you f^cks would read aswell maybe you would know i didnt get one?

Kremlik · May 2007

hmm.. they didn't 'steal' your money from you, reactivated your account.

If you read the deal properly all it said you can login during the weekend for free, it said nothing about needing to reactivite your account. I myself logged in fine without reactiving at all, and yes the inventtion system does seem a little bit sucky.

Lanmoragon · May 2007

You fell for it...

There was no need to actually reactivate your account. You could have logged in without editing your account at all.

Sorry, but you should have read the fine print.

Aseenus · May 2007

ur fault not nc softs thank you come again

Rollotamasi · May 2007

Umm, seems like you kind of screwed yourself on this one. NC didn't say anything about having to reactivate your account, You did that on your own. You ASSUMED you had to reactivate your account. Because you reactivated it you got charged. How is this anyones fault but your own?

Sanctus_Mors · May 2007

I'd have to say it's "User Error" not some conspiracy to get 15 buck from your CC.

Call your CC company and contest it.

BTW, you also craft other things besides enhancements. Those are just the more common drops.

LeJohn · May 2007

yup, it's the loose nut behind the wheel.

I got the Email, logged on without activating and played for the weekend.

Now that it's over, Im back to playing my normal games.

fariic1 · May 2007

That is kinda funny. All you have to do is log into the game when they do a promo like that. At least that's how it's been for the past 3 years.

Thanks for the laugh.

fariic1 · May 2007

Originally posted by LeJohn

yup, it's the loose nut behind the wheel.

I got the Email, logged on without activating and played for the weekend.

Now that it's over, Im back to playing my normal games.

I never got the email.

Although I was able to play for about an hour this morning. Enough time to do the tutorial on the new crafting feature. Not enough to make me reactive and accually try it though.

Celestian · May 2007

Originally posted by Lanmoragon
You fell for it...There was no need to actually reactivate your account. You could have logged in without editing your account at all.Sorry, but you should have read the fine print.

There is no fine print. The email made it quite clear all you had to do was login. They said nothing about reactivating your account to get in on the free play weekend.

OP, sorry, you messed up.

mrverse · May 2007

yea basically did f*ckup, their was no fine print or anything really saying your account was activated thought

all it said was "Play CoV for Free till sunday!" and thats about it

nothing said anything about just sign in? i actually tried and nope didnt let me. after i thought maybe just my account that wasnt picked but even support said my account was picked for free reactivation.. so yea try and sort that one out?

Celestian · May 2007

Originally posted by mrverse

nothing said anything about just sign in?

Quote from the email:

In celebration of our landmark new game content, simply log on to your City of Heroes® or City of Villains® account between now and Sunday, May 6th at 8:59pm PST/11:59pm EST and your account will be active and playable!*

mrverse · May 2007

was that sent in an email?? or did you make that up?

Demiclies · May 2007

While this is defiantly a case of "Oops, my bad," on the OP, don't you guys think a company can cut a guy some slack when messing up? Especially with subscriptions where we are trusting companies with our CC information?

Did he come to them? Yes

Did he hit ever button that says "Yes, you can charge me!"? Yes

Did he play at a time that wasn't free to begin with? No

I think this was an opportunity for a company to have made a cool showing of customer support, but instead shows there after the cash. I don't blame them, that’s why they made the game right? Just one more missed opportunity to show that there is just a little more then the money when offering a service.

I don't think this is a black eye for them, but it could have been a +1 in the cool column.

lobes · May 2007

Originally posted by mrverse

was that sent in an email?? or did you make that up?

Here is the full text from the email (copied and pasted):

Issue 9: Breakthrough is Live and We’ve Reactivated Your Account For the Weekend! In celebration of our landmark new game content, simply log on to your City of Heroes® or City of Villains® account between now and Sunday, May 6th at 8:59pm PST/11:59pm EST and your account will be active and playable!*

*Only accounts in good standing will be reactivated.

lomiller · May 2007

PEBKAC…

Rollotamasi · May 2007

Originally posted by Demiclies

While this is defiantly a case of "Oops, my bad," on the OP, don't you guys think a company can cut a guy some slack when messing up? Especially with subscriptions where we are trusting companies with our CC information?

Did he come to them? Yes

Did he hit ever button that says "Yes, you can charge me!"? Yes

Did he play at a time that wasn't free to begin with? No

I think this was an opportunity for a company to have made a cool showing of customer support, but instead shows there after the cash. I don't blame them, that’s why they made the game right? Just one more missed opportunity to show that there is just a little more then the money when offering a service.

I don't think this is a black eye for them, but it could have been a +1 in the cool column.

Reversing a CC charge in a pain in the ass. To take care of all the paperwork and such it would have cost them more then 15.99 in man power/man hours so I can see why they wouldn't. Its a lot eaiser when you have the physical card but remote billing is a bit different.

Lanmoragon · May 2007

Originally posted by Demiclies

While this is defiantly a case of "Oops, my bad," on the OP, don't you guys think a company can cut a guy some slack when messing up? Especially with subscriptions where we are trusting companies with our CC information?

Did he come to them? Yes

Did he hit ever button that says "Yes, you can charge me!"? Yes

Did he play at a time that wasn't free to begin with? No

I think this was an opportunity for a company to have made a cool showing of customer support, but instead shows there after the cash. I don't blame them, that’s why they made the game right? Just one more missed opportunity to show that there is just a little more then the money when offering a service.

I don't think this is a black eye for them, but it could have been a +1 in the cool column.

Whats to stop anybody from subbing to the game, hating it after 10 minutes, and then write NCSoft an email saying they didnt realize they would be charged?

While in the OP's case it would be nice, NCSoft has no way of knowing if his story is true or if he was another person just trying to get their money back for the wrong reasons.

Theutus · May 2007

same thing happened to me, I went and took a car for a test drive... after I signed all this paperwork... for some reason they wouldn't refund my check.

Demiclies · May 2007

Originally posted by Rollotamasi

Originally posted by Demiclies

While this is defiantly a case of "Oops, my bad," on the OP, don't you guys think a company can cut a guy some slack when messing up? Especially with subscriptions where we are trusting companies with our CC information?

Did he come to them? Yes

Did he hit ever button that says "Yes, you can charge me!"? Yes

Did he play at a time that wasn't free to begin with? No

I think this was an opportunity for a company to have made a cool showing of customer support, but instead shows there after the cash. I don't blame them, that’s why they made the game right? Just one more missed opportunity to show that there is just a little more then the money when offering a service.

I don't think this is a black eye for them, but it could have been a +1 in the cool column.

Reversing a CC charge in a pain in the ass. To take care of all the paperwork and such it would have cost them more then 15.99 in man power/man hours so I can see why they wouldn't. Its a lot eaiser when you have the physical card but remote billing is a bit different.

I have to admit, I have no idea how CC billing works. I'm sure there are a lot of security and safety checks that happen to minimize human errors. I also don't find it hard to believe that refunding the money would take someone on there staff a good chunk of time (Less then 2 hours I would guess, but it’s a guess) to complete the transaction. That takes money to pay someone to do that. I understand a company’s apprehension to reverse billing charges.

I was thinking more along the lines of maybe this thread scared off 5 potential subscribers, while a refund (and the thread that may have happened in that case) would have attracted 5 subscribers. I just have a feeling that $16 means a lot more to the OP then it does to PlayNC and that a good PR reputation with billing might make more money then it costs to do the occasional refund. This case really is an extreme example, being that if the OP reactivated on any other day then a fee play weekend, he should be charged as he was.

Like I was saying, I’m not surprised by the no refund, just disappointed. I don't have any examples of companies known to refund subscriptions.

mrverse · May 2007

well.. i did play cov way back for about a year or so, and they do have it on record.. and well arent trials for "playing 10 minutes and then hating it" or likeing it?

me for instance i wanted too test out the new stuff if anything, but ofcourse i could be lieing too get my money back.. but is it really for the "Wrong reasons" ... got too admit, if people played your game and paid a monthly fee, then several of them say "i do not wish too play this game for a month, i only spent an hour or so on it too test this out so i would like my money back" you would be forkin over all that cash back.. but no! you want money! thats why you made the game! for you thats an easy $16 for just an hour of user time. You can then use the excuse "you already paid for a month and its in quote the system quote and i somehow cant just refund you".. its classic

only in a perfect world a person can pay for a month, and an hour into it decide they dont want too play it for a month and get their money back (ofcourse with maybe a $0.10 since they did spend an hour of gametime) ...

too literally pay for what you get.. not overpay for what you dont really know but heh i just pasted this too warn peeps about them, and basically too show they really dont give a sh!t about anything but the money..

WolfClaws · May 2007

Ummm dude, this is 100% your fault.

Look, PlayNC is a company, and I am sorry... You reactivated your account, you played, you didn't like what you saw, and you want them to give you your money back? LOL, that's funny.

I have been playing MMOs since UO, heck even MUDs.. and well, a "come back and try it again" promotion has never had you reactivating your account. Ever.

The newsletter stated that you just log on and you will be able to play. Your complaints show that you need to think about what the problem is, instead of coming here and blowing up when you are the one at fault.

Keogh · May 2007

I found on my credit card statement last month that NC Play had over charged me, billing me twice in the same month and over chargeing me both times.

I contacted the credit card company and had any further automatic payments halted.

Aethios · May 2007

Originally posted by WolfClaws
Ummm dude, this is 100% your fault.Look, PlayNC is a company, and I am sorry... You reactivated your account, you played, you didn't like what you saw, and you want them to give you your money back? LOL, that's funny.
I have been playing MMOs since UO, heck even MUDs.. and well, a "come back and try it again" promotion has never had you reactivating your account. Ever.The newsletter stated that you just log on and you will be able to play. Your complaints show that you need to think about what the problem is, instead of coming here and blowing up when you are the one at fault.

QFT.

Just another "I gave out my CC info and those bastards took my money" thread. If you don't want to get charged, don't open your wallet.

Just be thankful you learned the lesson on reading fine print when it was only $16 and not $16,000.

jayheld90 · May 2007

dude seriously...you are a dumb@#$% for reactivating it, you never needed to reactivate...you only had to log into your account...it WAS free.

mrverse · May 2007

never said i wasnt at fault? have you even read any of the posts? and ive played a few mmos that make you reactivate incase you decide too play after

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Warning PlayNC (CoV,CoH) Will Steal Your Money! ... are they that desperate?

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